Looking back: Search for man suspected of killing mother, and student pulls gun on teacher

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of March 2 to March 8 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

LEWISVILLE — Three Lewisville school teachers were arrested, the Rigby Star reported on March 6, 1919.

A complaint was sworn out by A.B. Hoffman and W.H. Walker against R.E. Waller, his wife, Annie Waller, and Ida Shurtliff. The paper said both women were teachers in the Lewisville public school.

The Wallers and Shurtliff were accused of severely whipping about a dozen boys at school, resulting in three of the boys being “severely beaten.”

The case was going to be heard on March 15, 1919. Attorney Harry Holden, of Idaho Falls, was going to represent the defendants.

1926-1950

IDAHO FALLS — Multiple “high power explosive bombs” were stolen from the Intermountain Fireworks building, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on March 3, 1932.

The building, located in Idaho Falls, was broken into during the night.

“The manager of the plant, Rowland Williams, and the city and county officers fear serious damage may result as the bombs are of a dangerous type,” the paper wrote.

Williams said those who took the bombs knew what they were doing because only a particular type of high explosives was taken.

“If the work had been that of boys seeking firecrackers or other types of fireworks, that character of stock would have been taken instead of the heavy bombs,” Williams said.

Williams thought highwaymen may have stolen them to be used to blow safes open.

Williams and the officers feared that if the bombs were in the hands of people who didn’t understand how dangerous they were, there was likely to be “serious injury to persons or buildings as a result of possible premature explosions.”

“Parents are requested to learn, if possible, anything regarding the possession of the heavy bombs in order to avoid possible injury,” the article states.

1951-1975

CASSIA COUNTY– A search was underway for a 25-year-old man suspected of killing his 60-year-old mother, the Idaho State Journal reported on March 5, 1952.

Cassia County Sheriff Saul Clark identified the suspect as Searle M. Ward, of Almo, Idaho (which is 45 miles south of Burley). He was wanted on a first-degree murder warrant issued after authorities found the blood-stained blouse of his mother in their home.

Clark reported that Mrs. Ward had apparently been shot in the bathroom and dragged through the house and across the yard to a car that the son was believed to have left town in. An effort had been made to wipe up the bloodstains, the sheriff said.

A gas station attendant in Strevell, near the Idaho-Utah border, reported seeing a car with blood dripping from the back. The attendant said a man fitting Ward’s description stopped at the gas station and cashed a $10 check.

“He informed us that he saw blood dripping from the back of the car but didn’t think much of it at the time because he guessed Ward had probably slaughtered a lamb,” Deputy Sheriff Esther Woldon stated.

The attendant reported the man “appeared highly nervous.” It was believed he was armed with a pistol and a rifle.

Ward, a veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, had at one point been hospitalized as a “mental patient” in Sheridan, Wyoming, after the war.

1976-2000

POCATELLO — A Pocatello High School student was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly threatening a teacher with a gun, the Idaho State Journal reported on March 3, 1977.

Pocatello police arrest reports said a 15-year-old boy, who was not being identified because he was a juvenile, was charged with the Youth Act violation after pointing a .22 caliber revolver at Tom Aschenbrenner. The report indicated the boy pointed the gun at the teacher’s head.

Walt Jensen, chief of detectives, said the student asked Aschenbrenner for a “private conference” that morning in the teacher’s office. The student pulled a gun on the teacher and accused him of being hateful, according to Jensen. Jensen mentioned the boy thought the teacher had recently been “picking on him.”

The vice principal was able to talk the boy into putting the gun down before police arrived. Aschenbrenner told police he “feared for his life” during the incident.

The student was arrested shortly before noon.